Chain Song Idea

Hey Everyone,

I teach High School Social Studies classes. As a World Geography teacher, I try to explain to my students that ideas travel...i.e., the Ukulele traveling from Hawaii to everywhere else in the world. I was thinking that maybe, we could all collaborate on a song idea. For example, if we all play the same chord progression, something easy like C,Am,F,Dm7 so even newbies like myself can play it, perhaps we can all record ourselves singing a single self-written verse about who we are. At the end, all the verses can be edited together, and we can have an unofficial UU song to introduce ourselves to one another through a medium other than typed words. I think it would be really cool to put faces and voices to some of your screen names because you have been so helpful in my learning process with the Uke. What do you guys think? I guess a more senior member would be able to provide some better direction with this. In fact, perhaps some of the more talented players could do short solo's in the song. This could be a perennial work in progress that people can add to as a reward when they become a Senior member or something.

I guess we could all post our video files to a website somewhere and they can be put together by someone that is tech savvy. What say you, UU'ers??Anyone want to see if we can make this happen??

mendel

Wow Mendel.. That would be quite an undertaking! Cool as can be but a lot of work! On the idea of teaching the students is an amazing one! My singing and playing is poor at best.. but I wouldn't be opposed... I so enjoyed seeing members in the Christmas colab..

On a side note.. I think all the teachers on here are too cool! if all of you were in one place, I would move in a heartbeat, maybe even ship my kids off.

Thanks FitnCrafty. I appreciate your kind words. In fact, I am officially requesting that you become my very first UU friend. Im sending the request in a moment.

mendel

An incredible idea and sounds like fun. The tech part would be a real problem for me. Still working on a set up to record. Then trying to figure out how to post it could take me another 6 months. If I ever get that part down, I'm in for the ride around the world.

Singing and playing atrocious at best...but I am a teacher- totally in on it. Sounds like great fun. Let me know.

Great idea, keep me in the loop.
DAP

Super! count me in

Cool idea Mendel. Quite an undertaking. As a teacher and administrator for 30 years, I appreciate your idea of connecting the dots as to how everything in the world is connected in one way or another. Wonderful teaching idea. Methinks perhaps it might be a logistical nightmare. I don't know now many hundreds of UUers we have, and how many would participate or have record capabilities (which at present I don't, but looking into it) and it might take a really tech savvy person as a collector and assimilator of the whole process, which maybe someone is willing to do. Well see where it goes. Really good suggestion though. Lozark

Great idea.

I like it.

We have a pretty amazing community here. Perhaps someone is willing to do the video compilation and editing. Maybe someone can host the video clips on a blog or something. I haven't worked out the details yet. Maybe some members can contribute their skills. Let's do this together, guys! If nothing else, we can spread the love of the Uke!!!!!

Sounds like an interesting and challenging idea. I like it. I wonder if it would be helpful to have other parameters in addition to an agreed-upon chord progression -- stuff like an agreed-upon tempo and, perhaps, an agreed upon chorus (hearing in my head something like "We are UU" sung to the tune of "We Are The World," but I think we should try for something a lot less self-important and more fun) that would help us direct and shape the lyrics for our own particular verse. I'm definitely game.

These are all really good suggestions!!! Let's start to make a list of parameters. We can copy and paste them in order to get uniform stuff from the contributors. Let's set up a tempo, chord progression, and a strum pattern. What we really need is someone that can compile the stuff as well as a uniform chorus. I had the idea, but I am not capable of performing those tasks. I was hopeful that someone might have the necessary skill to pull this off.

Seems to me what you need to do now is lead by example- Chords, strum pattern and your verse. Could probably create a Youtube channel and make it public (share the password only through PM), pull the videos once they are done off the tube and edit final right back to the public account...does that make sense?
Not sure if we want to base it on an actual song- more fun to come up with something unique.
As for editing- I figure I could try my hand if need be- I have not done it, but I am pretty savvy on these darn things- could probably figure it out pretty fast.
Cheers

Someone might want to ask BornAgainJeeper for suggestions or help. He's done some incredible stuff, with combining songs with other on line singers and several split screen tracks accompanying himself with different instruments. He's got lots of great music, thoughts, videos on YouTube and has posted links to some it of here on UU. I have no idea how to even insert links to these posts.

I would have no problem doing that! I can post video to a public channel on YouTube, but. Have no dea how to pull the video off or edit it. I will work on a short verse, 4 or 5 lines about the UU, and I'll use the simplest chord progressions I know. Hopefully people will be kind! I have a terrible voice!!! My playing is not much better either. As bad as that sonde, my students tell me I have a face made for radio!!! LOL!!! This seems like it might get interesting.

mendel said:

I would have no problem doing that! I can post video to a public channel on YouTube, but. Have no dea how to pull the video off or edit it. I will work on a short verse, 4 or 5 lines about the UU, and I'll use the simplest chord progressions I know. Hopefully people will be kind! I have a terrible voice!!! My playing is not much better either. As bad as that sonde, my students tell me I have a face made for radio!!! LOL!!! This seems like it might get interesting.

Click to expand...

Looking forward to this... I am sure you can ask your students about editing! I am not that great of a player and a much worse singer... You are not alone. Sure sounds like fun though!